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2012 is coming to an end. In true
blogging fashion, I try and write out a year in review and map out the previous
12 months, highlighting and low lighting events that have transpired in my
life.As most years go, it was
full of its ups and downs. No shocker there.And also in true J.R. fashion, I’m glad to see 2012 go. Not
that it was a “bad” year, per say, but just like everything, life moves on and
we must continue to go forth and prosper.

January was a big month – It was
the start of my FINAL semester as an undergraduate student.I went into 2012 not fully knowing how
the year was going to end.For the
first time in my life, I didn’t have it all planned out.I didn’t know where my education would
take me, if I’d stay in my hometown, or if I’d move far away.My general plan was to go where the
jobs were.It was an unsettling
feeling, but at the same time, accomplished in knowing that I was just a few
short months away from finally finishing up a Bachelor’s Degree at an amazing
university.

The semester progressed and I found
myself taking in more of the campus, stopping to appreciate the beautiful
architecture, the beautiful job the groundskeepers do, and just the overall
feel of campus life.Most students
can’t wait to finish up and move on.I could feel it deep inside that I was going to miss it terribly.Call me crazy, but I love sitting in an
academic setting, having conversations with very intelligent people on subjects
I find particularly interesting.There were a few things I wouldn’t miss – the presentations we had to
give in front of a class of tons of students, the long and excruciating reading
assigned to us (let’s face it, academic reading can be very mundane, even if it
is an interesting topic).

March came, and I enjoyed my last
spring break as a free woman.With
it came our usual storm season, which leads to a major storm that came and
turned my life upside down in April.I was a few weeks away from graduation – on the fast track to finally
finishing everything up.It was
April 29th, the night before my ring ceremony where I’d be rewarded
with the official Texas Tech Class Ring that I wear with pride.It was a Sunday – I didn’t do much that
day.I remember the weather
reports calling for stormy weather, but here in Texas in April, you tend to
expect that anyway.Around 7PM I
went out on my front porch (this was back when I lived out in the country) and
took in the weather.I used to go
out and write on my porch or just get fresh air.The sky was dark and the humidity was thick.Still nothing out of the ordinary for
Texas in April.I began to track a
system that formed to the southwest of us.By the path the Doppler showed and all the other ingredients
with a storm, it looked to probably go just west and north of us, only skimming
us.I was a bit disappointed in
it.We needed rain.The air began to get quite chilly (an
indicator of hail) and I took the computer in to warm up.

Not five minutes after I got in, my
phone blew up with text messages and phone calls about the storm.My mother urged me to get out of my
home.(No basement or cellar to
take cover) I was apprehensive at first.I had checked the weather and saw with my own eyes that it wasn’t coming
toward us.I chalked it up to my
mom worrying about me, as a mother should.However, my dad called and even people on Facebook alerted
me to take cover, that we had tornado warnings all around us.The storm had shifted southeast and was
coming right toward my community.I grabbed my dog, put him on a leash, and we left all of our belongings
behind and ran over to my aunt’s house next door.She also does not have a basement or cellar, and at first
wasn’t taking the warnings seriously.After several more calls and texts, she was finally convinced to go down
the street to my uncle’s house where a basement was available to take cover in.

She had a friend at her house and rather than wait, I ran
down to the other house. My poor dog didn’t want to run.I had to drag him.I could hear hail in the distance
crashing around.It sounded like
loud thuds that still echo in my mind.We all got to my uncle’s house just in time.Hail as large as softballs got heavier.I could see a funnel cloud just north
of the house moving up and down with each lightning flash. By this time it was
completely dark outside.We lost
electricity.My phone was our only
way of telling what the weather was doing.To make a long story short, the damage was “bad”, but
definitely could’ve been worse.My
uncle’s sunroom got torn up.The
skylights got busted out and the room was under about 3 inches of water.My house lost 5 windows and my car was
completely totaled.I don’t think
anyone in my neighborhood had a roof that wasn’t totaled.What matters most is that we were all
protected.Items were damaged and
lost, but at least our lives weren’t.

I’ll never forget that night.What bugs me most is that I’m usually
awesome at tracking weather, but even professional meteorologists were thrown
off guard by the weather activity of April 29th.For the longest time after, I was
squeamish with severe weather.I
can still hear the hail shattering things, and even in a brick house it was a
deafening sound.With the help of
family, we pulled through.My dad
came over the next day and helped me patch up the glass until we could replace
it.The National Weather Service
was calling for a same pattern for that night, so we had to move quickly.
Thankfully, they were wrong and it was a calm evening.The day after that, we bought glass to
replace what had been broken.We
spent most of the day out in the heat, patching it all up to make the place
livable again.

I was without a vehicle for almost
2 weeks, and with finals coming up, I was stressed to the hilt.Like everything, it worked out well and
I was blessed to get into a much stronger and better vehicle than what I had
before.I had wanted to get out of
that small car and into another pickup, and that’s exactly what I did.It was God’s blessing in disguise.

Hail damage on hood of car. The entire car looked like this...

2 of the 5 windows damaged on my house

Telephone pole split on FM 41 just west and south of where I lived

Uncle's damaged skylight

"Small" hail from that night

May came and that meant
graduation.I passed my courses
with flying colors and made a 4.0 for my final semester.My goal was dean’s list, but I made the
president’s list, which was even better.I was so proud.I finished
with an overall GPA of 3.7, making me a Cum Laude graduate.My family came to the ceremony – even
my nieces and nephew.The
commencement took a long time.I
felt so awesome walking into the United Spirit Arena decked out in my
graduation cap, gown, and stole.I
was an “official” RED RAIDER.It
was a very emotional day for me.I
was so hyped up that I did it, but it was sad too.It was time to find a job and get out there in the real
world.My days as a student on the
Texas Tech campus had come to a halt.

My official class ring

That evening we had a graduation
party at my parent’s house.Tons
of family came over and offered there congrats and gifts.We had a cake, BBQ, and great
company.What more could I have
wanted?It was perfect.I was fulfilled.I had reached one of my goals that I
had set for myself as a young child – I –always- wanted to be a Texas Tech grad,
and the ring on my finger proved that I had done it.The diploma I worked so hard for proved it.

One thing I knew was that I needed
a job, and soon.I’m not one to
like to sit around at home for too long.I had already put out several applications long before I even
graduated.I started to apply for
even more.I figured the more I
put my name out, the better my chances would be.By the end of May, I hadn’t heard a thing from any of the
places I had applied.I started to
feel down on my luck and worried about my finances.I swallowed my pride and applied at a day care.I swore I’d never go back to day care,
but I needed income.I got a job
instantly and began working, but told myself I’d continue to search for
something else.This would just be
something to do until something better fell into my lap.

In the middle of July I got a call
from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (Texas Tech Medical School)
asking for me to come in for an interview.I honestly didn’t even remember what job it was – I had
applied at so many places that it all ran together.Of course I said yes to going in.The first interview went well and I had a good feeling.A few days later they called me for a
second interview.The next day,
they were calling to offer me the job.It is in a Family Practice Clinic within the health sciences center that
allows medical students to do their residency to get board certified. I’m what
I call a utility player in doing a lot around the clinic.It is a state job and I have the best
benefits I’ve ever had. There is a lot of longevity in the job, and I’m hoping
to work my way up the ladder with them.The opportunity came at the right time, and I’m blessed to be given the
chance that I have.

Since then, I’ve just been living
life.We had a great
Thanksgiving.My brother and his
clan came down and some of my aunts and uncles came over to spend it in my
parent’s new house.That is one
thing I forgot to mention.In
April they moved into a much nicer house.

Another highlight was scoring
George Strait tickets to his final tour – The Cowboy Rides Away Tour! He will
be kicking off the tour right here in Lubbock on January 18th. I was
dead set on going since it is quite possibly the last time he’ll be in
concert.My brother in law found a
code that allowed us to purchase them a day early, which is a good thing,
seeing as the concert sold out in a record 20 minutes!

Christmas was a small one.My brother was unable to come down and
my sister spent most of her time with her in-laws since Thanksgiving was with
my folks.All in all, it was good
since I was with family.It snowed
and we had a white Christmas, which I would’ve been much more excited about if
I didn’t have to drive home that night.

I wish you all a wonderful 2013!
Ready or not, here it comes. I can’t say what it’ll hold for me, but I pray we
all have more highlights than low lights.Bring on the new year and bring on many blessings!

This evening I’ve taken the time to just sit back and think
about things. It has truly been a cozy evening.I have a pecan pie scented candle lit, my feet are kicked
up, I’m relaxed, and I have Pandora shuffling music on my TV. Life is good,
right?

That leads me to my next point.I have recently fallen back into a negative state of
mind.I hate when I go through
that phase, and yes, it can be avoided.Life just seemed to be happening – from issues with my truck, to
frustrations at work, to whatever the case may be at that point in time.Then a wake up call happened – The
shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.I’m not going to get into a full discussion about it, but it was a shove
into reality for me.My problems
seemed VERY insignificant compared to what the people of that town were going
through.My truck got fixed (it
was just a busted water pump), work frustrations are blessings in disguised… I
mean, after all, I could very well not have a job and no income, right?It’s sad that it takes someone else’s
tragedy to make me realize it, but at the moment, things really aren’t that
bad, regardless of how I may view situations.

The holiday season should bring the best out in people.After work today, I stopped off at the
grocery store to pick up some things for our Christmas dinner.A sweet elderly woman was slowly moving
down an aisle, and each person she passed, she smiled and told them Merry
Christmas.It warmed my heart so
much.On the flip side of the
coin, I could have gotten frustrated with her for not moving faster and being
in the way, but I took a moment to see and hear her joy.Most people responded with
positivity.

It is going to be a small Christmas for us this year. My
brother and his family came down for Thanksgiving.I’m thankful for the wonderful family I do have, and even
though we won’t have a house full for this holiday, at least we do have a home
to gather in.We will have a
turkey (which I got free as a gift from my place of employment), all of the
sides, and amazing desserts (one recipe I’m trying for the first time!)

I guess searching for blessings was heavy on my heart tonight.There’s been so much sadness in the
news lately that I had to get my mind on something else.I have amazing friends, some far away
and some close by, some I’ve never met in person, and some who I have known for
years.As I look at a shelf near
me, I see all of the Christmas cards that were sent to me this year.It’s full of various styles, colors,
and pictures with personalized messages inside them for me.I mailed out a big stack myself, and as
I placed stamps on each one, I didn’t think about all of the postage I had to
pay for – I thought about all of the great people I was sending each one to and
how I’m glad I went through a ton of stamps to mail them all out.

I recently had a conversation with a new friend I found
through my writing.Without even
really “knowing” me, they helped me out just by their kind words and positive
attitude.I jokingly posted a
picture of some candy that looked like coal that was in my stocking at work.Just as I would expect, they responded
and said that eventually it becomes a diamond.I hope one day I can get to the point that with whatever
response I have, it will always be positive like that. That has spurred up
another thought in my head.A
couple of years ago I was walking the Texas Tech campus with a friend and he
pointed out all of the beautiful flowers around the school.I responded with “They’re just gonna
die anyway.” Looking back on that memory, I have to laugh.I don’t know what I was thinking when I
said that.He was trying to admire
the hard work the Texas Tech groundskeepers put into it, and I just let that
spew out of my mouth without a second thought.I’m glad I don’t do that now.

I guess the main point of this blog entry is trying to find
positive in everything.That pile
of dishes in the sink? At least you are blessed with food to cause that dreaded
chore that I avoid like the plague.The busted water pump on your pickup? Hey, you have a vehicle to
drive.That 6AM alarm blaring when
you’re dead asleep?You’ve got a
job to go to and a steady income, and though it isn’t making you rich in the
least bit, at least you have something.So many others aren’t as fortunate.

I want to wish all of you a happy holiday season.May the New Year bring you love,
happiness, and good fortune.Keep
that chin up! I know, I know… I need to take my own advice!

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About Me

J.R. Tate is the author of firefighter heroes books, horror and supernatural fiction, romantic suspense, and is trying her hand at post-apocalyptic thrillers. A few of her books have brushed the top 100 on Amazon's best-seller list where many readers have voiced how captivating and intense her stories are. She started writing at a young age when she took creative writing classes in school. Later branching off into fan-fiction, she then found interest in coming up with her own ideas and characters, many whom she has shared with readers for years.
She also has interests in psychology and mental health, where she holds a degree in that field. Many of her stories get deep into the psyche of what makes humans tick and be careful - one day she might analyze you! Along with writing, J.R. enjoys long distance running, reading, camping, and spending time with family.
You can reach J.R. Tate at jtateauthor@yahoo.com. She appreciates feedback and will write back to everyone!
To check on book updates and writer news, follow her on Twitter @JTateAuthor, or 'like' her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/JTatePublications.